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<\/p>\nEvery year, the Envoy Cadet Program receives hundreds of applications from pilots of all different backgrounds. Many come from a family full of pilots or flight attendants, some are aviation enthusiasts, but only a handful come from different departments within at Envoy.<\/p>\n
The latter applies to Cadet Instructor Pat Dennison, who got his start at Envoy as a recruiter back in 2017. While working at Envoy, Pat also served in the U.S. Army Reserve, and in April of 2019, he was deployed to the Middle East where he served for 11 months as a military intelligence officer.<\/p>\n
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(Pat Dennison on a combat mission in Syria)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n On his first flight overseas with the Army, his interest in becoming a pilot skyrocketed. The cargo bay, where he would normally spend the duration of his flight, was full, so he took the jumpseat instead.<\/p>\n \u201cI must have slept 20 minutes total on that flight, because I was so fascinated with what the pilots were doing,\u201d said Pat. \u201cI remember thinking, \u2018when this deployment is over, I have to pursue aviation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Pat did just that \u2013 as soon as he returned home, he started his journey to become an Envoy Cadet.<\/p>\n \u201cIt only made sense to apply to the very company that birthed my interest in becoming a pilot as soon as I was qualified to,\u201d said Pat.<\/p>\n (Pat returning home from his deployment)<\/em><\/p>\n Before becoming First Officers, Envoy Cadets first serve as Cadet Instructors. After meeting the requirements and qualifications, Cadet Instructors spend the remainder of their time in the program training student pilots.<\/p>\n In the world of aviation, safety is always first. This is something student pilots learn early on in their training, and must be ever-present as an instructor.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing an instructor has made me a much smarter, safer and proficient pilot,\u201d said Pat. \u201cAnd when I\u2019m not teaching, the fact that I am able to use travel privileges on my days off is a huge perk.\u201d<\/p>\n On top of the other great benefits of being an Envoy employee, Cadet Instructors, as well as their immediate family members, can fly for free on the American Airlines global network.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are thousands of people like me out there who once thought to themselves, \u2018I wish I could become a pilot,\u2019 and having the Envoy Cadet Program be the bridge between those people and their dream is unreal,\u201d said Pat.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.envoyair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/4-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMaking dreams come true<\/h3>\n
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